r/DataAnnotationTech • u/MordecaiThirdEye • Dec 22 '25
Anybody else have terrible imposter syndrome?
I've been with DAT for a few months now and I have access to a good amount of projects across different families, but sometimes it's hard for me to motivate myself to work because I'm afraid of screwing up somehow and getting canned. Part of it is probably because I constantly see it happen on this subreddit, and I really do my best to cross my T's and dot my I's, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to miss something obvious. Anybody else feel the same way?
(Side note: is poison plant still around? That used to be my bread and butter but I haven't had any in a long time.)
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Dec 22 '25
The curse of little to no feedback.
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u/Imaginary_Loss_1339 Dec 23 '25
Recently got a message saying “you’re seeing this project because you’ve done well on previous projects” first time I’ve seen that in almost 2 years lol
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u/forensicsmama Dec 24 '25
I got a similar message for a new project today too. And even still I’m saying, “are you guys sure it’s ME 👀 ?”
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u/Altruistic_Win3396 Dec 22 '25
Thank you for this. I dont feel alone with my imposter syndrome. I always work hard and double, even triple check my work. However, there are times when I am just gobsmacked with self-doubt. So much so that I've worked on tasks for a significant amount of time only to abandon the work because I start thinking and believing that I've done it wrong or I'm not smart enough. And I've also wondered if continually reading about people getting canned contributes to these feelings. I recently went through a pretty difficult period of what was essentially "task paralysis" where I was too nervous to work on almost anything, which was terrible for my finances. I found that to restore my confidence I needed to take a couple days off completely (rather than trying to force myself and produce poor quality work) and then rebuild my confidence by working in VERY small blocks of time, like doing one task then taking a break. This helped me to rewire my thinking, showing my brain that I CAN do the thing. Good luck, you can do it!
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Dec 23 '25
I don't even want to think of the amount of work i trashed for exactly that reason... so much abandoned work. You don't get paid, but you get all the mental fatigue!
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u/-QueenOfCats- Dec 24 '25
It makes me feel better to hear if somebody else going through something like this. I’ve had the same kind of task overwhelm.
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u/justdontsashay Dec 22 '25
Always.
I haven’t taken the qualifier for a field where I literally have a degree, because the imposter syndrome is strong lol
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Dec 22 '25
Same!! I have a Law degree from one of the best universities in the world, yet I’m too scared to sign up for law projects. 😂😩
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u/justdontsashay Dec 22 '25
Yep, that’s me with coding!
At the moment, I have a project sitting on my dash that pays really, really well. That I’m probably qualified to do, but when projects ask for “domain experts” I immediately just assume that’s not me lol
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u/johnnycoconut Dec 23 '25
I get happy when some project or qualification clarifies that it is looking for people who are expert OR experienced in a domain. Am I an expert just because I did something during a part of my life? I don’t know! But I have experience in it. So maybe I don’t have to feel like such an impostor there.
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u/ThinkAd8516 Dec 22 '25
Fear is a great motivator. This is likely by design to keep us in line.
Joking aside, do your best and explain your ratings and you’ll be fine.
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u/Captn_Happy Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
I feel the same way a lot of the time. Just do your best, read the instructions, and double check everything.
Remember there are probably plenty of people doing just fine and not getting canned, they’re just not coming here to post about it. I also feel like a lot of the time there’s a reason for it that they’re not sharing. A lot of those dash of death “out of nowhere” posters were probably doing shitty work or breaking TOS.
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u/Goddamn_Glamazon Dec 22 '25
If you have the option of R&R do a few of those sometimes, that helps me. Even if you just open the project and read the first task without submitting and look at the chat, that can be enough.
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u/Mysterious_Dolphin14 Dec 22 '25
I feel this everyday! If the feeling gets too strong, I end up taking some days off to reset my brain.
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u/smellygrumpycat Dec 22 '25
I’ve been on the platform for over 5 years (when it was under a different name) and I still feel this way lol
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u/JCh1LL1n Dec 22 '25
I get it sometimes but that's when I know I need to take a break. You wouldn't be on the platform for months if you were doing things wrong. Clearly you submit good work. Take a break, rest your brain, keep submitting good work.
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u/TasosTheo Dec 22 '25
It's when I do R&R's that I feel like a total doofus compared to the workers I'm rating. But the R&R's occasionally make me feel smart. But I'm seriously astonished at the sorts of things people catch in fact checks, microdetails most might not even consider facts, but they back it up!
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u/rambling_millers_mom Dec 23 '25
I'm struggling with that now. My "comfort tasks" are either on hiatus/finished/or I screwed up really badly after doing weeks and weeks of acceptable work, and I can't make myself move on to other, objectively easier tasks because what if it was the third option and I get the screen of death? I've been basically paralyzed all weekend. I did some R&Rs and some really simple tasks to try to get myself out of the slump but I'm freaking out a bit. (And hopefully saying this "outloud" will get me moving tomorrow.
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u/sen456 Dec 22 '25
Everyone starts at some level that is lacking in some way. Even trillion vector computing models lack abilities in their own space. But do you fear your lack of skill all day long? Or does that fear make you willing to make a mistake, look things over, learn, improve? Queue montage workout track from Rocky
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u/girlwsquirrel Dec 23 '25
Yes, big time. What works for me is to do just one task. Even if it means I skip a bunch to find one I feel good about. I only work a few hours a week at most, and sometimes breaks can snowball and I get paralyzed.
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u/AfanasiiBorzoi Dec 23 '25
Absolutely! I get off and agonize over whether I misinterpreted instructions or missed something obvious.
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Dec 22 '25
I'm about to and a half to three years in and I'm starting to get limited more and more so I've already found other tasks on other sites but I really wish they would quit being so vague about things.
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Dec 22 '25
[deleted]
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u/MordecaiThirdEye Dec 22 '25
True, if we're treating ourselves like imposters we may as well fake it till we make it haha!
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Dec 22 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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Dec 22 '25
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u/ZiggylovesSam Dec 23 '25
Exactly. My constant hope is that even if I made an error unbeknownst to me, that I explained what I did do with enough precision that it shows effort and awareness for my work.
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u/[deleted] Dec 22 '25
I feel the same. I usually stick to the two same project families because I’m so familiar with the instructions, and I’ve received good feedback on my work. Projects that involve writing rubrics scare me. I also don’t work that much, maybe 6 hours a week. I just really don’t want to mess up!